Danone North America has officially published the results from a new survey, which discovered that 84% of Americans have become more interested, over the past few years, in foods or products that support gut health.
Going by the available details, this marks the extension of a trend which aligns with rapid growth of the given category, as the global probiotics market is expected to reach $119.5 billion by 2030. Having said so, even though Google searches for ‘gut health’ have more than doubled in the last three years, the survey found that more than 41% of consumers remain unaware of the gut microbiome, and 50% don’t realize it can impact gut health, revealing an opportunity for more education.
Talk about the given survey on a slightly deeper level; level, we begin from how a staggering seventy-three percent of respondents said they don’t know that gut microbiome is established within the first few years of life.
Next up, we referred to a lack of knowledge regarding gut microbiome’s impact on gut health, but what we haven’t yet touched upon is how an even more of them do not realize it may impact several other top health and wellness priorities for U.S. consumers, including: immune health (56%, down just 1% from 2021), mental well-being (63%, down 4%), healthy aging (54%) and sleep quality (61%).
Another detail worth a mention stems from the way no more than one in 10 consumers can correctly identify a Flexitarian eating pattern (which emphasizes plant-based foods while also incorporating nutrient-rich animal foods) as a diet which best promotes gut health over more restrictive diets like keto and paleo.
On a brighter side, the survey did reveal that more consumers are becoming aware of biotics that, on their part, have been shown to support gut health and the gut microbiome. You see, most Americans were found to be familiar with probiotics (88%, up 4% from 2021) and prebiotics (76%, up 11%), whereas on the other hand, 60% said they are familiar with postbiotics (up 11%).
Danone also took this opportunity to burst several persistent myths that could be making it difficult for consumers to navigate, as well as best leverage gut health promoting products in an increasingly crowded category.
For instance, nearly half of consumers who are familiar with probiotics (49%) assume all fermented foods and beverages provide them, down just 3% from 2021. In reality, fermented foods and beverages, like kombucha, sauerkraut or sourdough bread, may contain bacteria as part of the fermentation process, but that doesn’t guarantee probiotics’ presence.
The next myth Danone unpacked relates to those forty-four respondents, familiar with probiotics, who believe that all probiotic products have “live and active cultures” qualify (down 3% from 2021). However, even if a product contains live cultures, those cultures may not have been studied and shown to support health, which is what would actually make them a probiotic.
Then, there is a myth deeming probiotic supplements as equivalent to probiotics in food. In essence, a total of forty-five percent of consumers, familiar with probiotics, said they still believe that probiotic supplements are equivalent to probiotics in food (down 2% since 2021). In reality, though, foods are often considered a better vehicle for probiotics compared to supplements because they buffer stomach acidity, which can help probiotics reach the intestine.
“Our mission at Danone North America is to bring health through food to as many people as possible, and research continues to suggest that gut health and the gut microbiome are important pieces of that puzzle in some incredibly far-reaching ways,” said Miguel Freitas, PhD, Vice President of Nutrition and Scientific Affairs, Danone North America. “That’s why it’s important for us to not only help fund research that continues to unlock the power of the gut microbiome, but also to keep a pulse on consumer understanding and sentiment to help us identify and address knowledge gaps in this area.”
